The Fringed Pocket Scarf - A Review

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of this scarf, I want to be fully transparent and honest in that I do currently work as a sales associate for Anthropologie and did purchase this scarf using my employee discount. However, all the opinions expressed in this review are my own, and any links are purely for your benefit.

I first saw this scarf on a styled display hanging in the fitting room; it was blue. I saw the pocket and was immediately intrigued, but it wasn't until my coworker bought the blue scarf that I decided it needed it too. It was around that time that I also found out that the scarf also came in other colors besides the blue one I had seen, so I settled on gold and made my way to the register to purchase the Fringed Pocket Scarf from Anthropologie's Pilcro collection.

After wearing the scarf almost non-stop since I got it and being an avid scarf-wearer in the winter, I've decided to judge it based on two areas: the stability and comfort of the yarn and functionality of both the pockets and the warmth provided.

Functionality

My first time actually wearing the scarf was the next day when I was flying home for the weekend, which was a perfect test for this accessory. I don't know how you all prefer to travel, but I feel like airports are just a constant stress of trying to make sure you keep all your stuff together while trying to balance the chaos of everyone around you and extra items. This is where I hoped the pockets would be the most beneficial. Considering neither of my travel outfits for the weekend had pockets, having the two extra pockets on the scarf was nice, but I found that I couldn't carry anything with much weight. I tried to hold my wallet in one of the pockets (for reference, my wallet weighs 1 pound, 2.5 ounces), and the gravity slowly pulled the scarf down making me mildly uncomfortable in the process. It was perfect through for my phone, which weighs 7.5 ounces, and the Starbucks napkins I grabbed in a hurry.

Despite the gravity issue when I was standing, I found the pockets to be incredibly beneficial while I was on the plane. Putting my smaller personal items in the pockets such as my phone and my book, I was assured that they would remain on my lap. This was so much more enjoyable compared to the juggling act I tend to play on the plane to make sure nothing falls on the floor.

As someone who is 5'4", another slight issue I had with this scarf was the length and how it affected the functionality of the pockets. Wearing it unwrapped, the pockets were too low, but wearing it wrapped the pockets were too high. Now this could just be a personal problem for me due to my height and proportions, but if you're wanting to wear this scarf in place of wearing gloves, it's important to consider how your hands may be exposed.

The scarf was really good for the plane and the airport because it kept me warm to the perfect amount and the length allowed me to cover my arms partially. My only qualm in this situation was that the scarf was wider than a typical scarf, but not wide enough to be a blanket scarf. Paired with a jacket, this wouldn't have been a problem, but I ultimately had to be glad to have it with me over nothing.

Comfort and Stability of the Yarn

Let me start by saying that this scarf is very soft even though it's textured by the ribbed knitting pattern. In fact, while wearing the scarf you can't really feel the texture. It provides a proper amount of warmth for a scarf (perhaps even better than some of my other scarves), and it's comfortable. For this reason, I appreciate the yarn chosen for this scarf.

On another had however, this scarf sheds a good bit. Now, I haven't washed it yet so I don't know if that could be a contributing factor, but after wearing it all morning on the plane, my white shirt was covered in thin gold yarn fuzzies. So many that my mom felt the need to point them out when she picked me up. Additionally, after only owning it for less than a week, the whole scarf has taken on a fuzzier appearance than the cleanly knit scarf I bought. Assuming the yarn is the the same yarn used for the the tassels, it appears to be lightly twisted which would understandably result in fuzzies from the scarf.

At the end of the day, I think this is a solid scarf. It's accomplishes it's main goal of keeping the wearer warm and looks pretty, but I was mildly disappointed. As a crocheter, I expected the yarn to get a little fuzzy, but I was mostly disappointed by the pockets since that was a big selling point for me. I think the pockets work really well as an added visual detail, but they lack in the functionality that I was hoping for. Whether or not I think you should purchase the scarf is dependent on what you are personally looking for in a scarf and whether or not you're hoping for functionality in what are probably supposed to be decorative pockets. It's a good scarf, and I'll use it for as long as I can. But if I knew what I know now about the wear of the yarn and the pocket usage, I don't think I would've purchased it.